U.S.A.’s Patrick Walters takes tops (105 lbs.) at the St. Lawrence River B.A.S.S. Elite; Canada’s Chris Johnston finishes second (103-12); Japan’s Kyoya Fujita places third (102-5) – a DAIWA Bass Pro trifecta win.

FOOTHILL RANCH, CA (September 19, 2023) – I there’s one thing anglers have learned in professional bass fishing over the past decade or so, it’s that the ability to catch smallmouth bass can pay huge dividends. Yes, long gone are the days of cashing big checks solely with the time-proven formula of power fishing, structure flipping, and running shorelines/docks.

With a very diverse roadmap of tournament locations across the United States, B.A.S.S. has chosen numerous bodies of waters with healthy smallmouth bass populations. Thus, today’s well-rounded pro bass angler cannot only pull green fish from junk and shallow waters, they must dial in deeper, offshore brown (and green) fish bites. Case in point: Gussy’s Classic win.

Such was the case at the recent B.A.S.S. Elite event on the St. Lawrence River where DAIWA pros representing the U.S., Canada, and Japan finished first, second, and third, respectively, all with 100-plus-pound bags of giant Great Lakes bronzebacks. The three DAIWA bass pros earned Century Club belts, an outstanding achievement, especially with 100% smallmouth bass weighed.

Patrick Walters (Photo courtesy of B.A.S.S.)

On Patrick Walters’ Win

29-year-old Eutawville, South Carolina native and DAIWA bass pro, Patrick Walters, says for the longest time he couldn’t catch smallmouths to save his life.

“I used to pull up on a bunch of two-pounders and catch ‘em for an hour or two and think I was doing good. After all, that would be a good day for us down south. But that’s not how you play the game competing on big smallmouth waters with competitors like the Johnston brothers, Gussy, and the other Northern guys who really know how to catch big smallmouths,” relays Walters.

“Growing up in South Carolina, we don’t have access to smallmouth fishing on big water. We caught some, sure, but they were smaller fish from river streams. I just didn’t grow up fishing smallies at the level it takes to compete now. We don’t fish ‘em like that in the south. I had to learn from other guys on tour.”

Walters says it’s hard to believe just how good the Johnston brothers and Gussy are at catching big smallmouth bass.

“I love fishing with them and against them because it makes all the anglers better as a whole, because they are going to catch them, and competition drives success. Bass fishing is just like college football. If Alabama plays a small school they might not bring out their best. But if they’re playing LSU, everybody shows up and plays. Same for fishing: you play toward your competition and competition drives success. You must up your game fishing against the best smallmouth bass anglers in the world. It took me three seasons on the Elite Series to go from zero smallmouth skills to where I’m at today. I had no idea how to target big smallies on large bodies of water. I listened to what these guys had to say and learned to be better from the absolute best in the game.”

“The new Tatula MQ LT spinning reel is the best reel on the market—and that comes from someone who also owns more expensive models. For $200, you just can’t go wrong. Absolutely tournament-grade. And no-fail. The drag is so smooth the fish almost fight longer because they don’t feel anything. It’s not jerky, it’s super smooth,” remarks Walters.

Specifically, what did you learn from these guys about catching smallies on big waters? 

“First, If you’re not catching them, you’re not around them. That’s probably the biggest thing. They group up by size. However, you must find ‘em, so you have to cover a lot of water—and find out what kind of structure they’re relating to and what forage they’re eating. That’s the biggest thing,” shares Walters.

Walters says he also learned to keep moving until he finds aggressive fish.

“Dave Mercer helped me a lot because he was like, ‘Patrick, you’re gonna be really good at smallmouth someday’ and he recommended I go out and fish like I normally fish and avoid overthinking it. So, fishing big-water smallies has become fun for me. It’s almost like saltwater fishing. Once you find the bait and you find the right structure, the fish are there every single time. So just move until you find the aggressive fish.”

Walters, an alum of the University of South Carolina bass fishing team, won the 2015 National Championship (Lake Murray), and his progression onto the national B.A.S.S. tour and Elite Series since 2019 has been outstanding from the get-go. Still, and again admittedly, he had trouble catching the caliber of smallmouths needed to compete at some events.

“I have a history of struggling on the St. Lawrence,” divulges Walters. “But I learned a lot over time from the guys who are good at catching big smallies, like fellow DAIWA pro, Chris Johnston. So, to capitalize on what was a real deficiency in my game feels good now—even better that I weighed over 100 pounds at this Elite and earned my third Century Belt.”

Not only did Walters surpass the 100 pound mark, he did it with a surplus of five pounders for an even 105 pounds weight, the heaviest finish with all smallmouth bass in B.A.S.S. Elite tournament history.

“I told my wife afterwards, ‘I’ve got no complaints on the win whatsoever, but why can’t we win a typical 80-pound tournament?’”

Photo courtesy of B.A.S.S.

Pre-Fishing the St. Lawrence/Lake Ontario

Turns out Walters only had two-and-a-half days of practice prior to the recent St. Lawrence Elite event.

“I caught a good one the first day, but ran 138 miles around Lake Ontario looking for the right fish. But I didn’t dial anything in. And the wind steadily picked up, so I decided to play it safe and find fish in the St. Lawrence river,” says Walters.

“Honestly, I don’t like fishing the river. It’s a good fishery, but the lake is one of my top three favorite fisheries in the world. And both fish completely different. So, I did what I do and that’s fish to the conditions and not history. By 1 pm the first day I had 17 pounds, and it was really windy. I wanted to get out and hunker down on the lake but just didn’t do it. I was nervous at 1 pm. I was shooting for 20 pounds. So, I moved to another spot. I was fishing down a shoal and could see fish, but they wouldn’t bite. Then all of a sudden a big one followed my bait to the boat and that got my hopes up. I dropped straight down, and it weighed 6-1. I was like ‘here we go, we got us a big fish!’ I had a 2-10 and a 3-5 in the livewell so all I needed was two more good fish.

Walters decided to run farther upriver to a hump he’d marked on his map during pre-fishing—and caught fish on a couple years prior. One of his first few casts he was rewarded with a 4-12, leaving him in need of one more big fish. With about 30 minutes to weigh-in he kept casting, knowing the ride back to the launch would take him 15 minutes. He proceeded to catch four 12-inch fish and was almost ready to call it quits when something told him to drop his bait down again quick.

Good thing. Walters hoisted a 5-1.

“It was like everything was just meant to be. So, I pulled up to the next hump with just minutes to fish and caught three right away, including a 4-14. I pulled up the trolling motor and told my marshal, a French-Canadian named Pierre, that we were heading in and all he could do was cheer. It was pretty cool. So, we went from 17 to 24 pounds in 45 minutes. That’s just how it goes sometimes.”

Walters ran back out to the spot on Day 2, but it was vacant of any activity until he pulled right on top of the hump and caught a 3-pounder.

“So, I Spot-Locked and caught four fish in a row right on top, bringing my weight to 17-19. Then all I needed was a five-pounder. Then by 10:30 – in two and a half hours – I had 27 pounds. On Day 1 I had 24 and tied for ninth, then caught 27 on Day 2. So, I felt like we reached our goal weight. So, I spent the rest of day just pre-fishing around,” recalls Walters.

Patrick Walters (Photo courtesy of B.A.S.S.)

On Day 3, Walters returned to the spot, but it was no longer loaded.

“Thinking about it now, I could have caught more on Day 2 if I had leaned into them, but smallies move around and you just don’t know what they’re going to do. Still, on Day 3, I caught 24 or 25 pounds off the spot and thought that was pretty good. Then, every time I’d pull up to a new spot, I’d catch a 5-pounder, ending up at 28-5 on Day 3. I mean, I culled a 5-2 and a 5-3; you just don’t do that. I was triple-checking weights. It was nerve-racking. But it was magical. I was literally giggling,” recounts Walters.

Walters returned to the weigh-in an hour early and we knew we were sitting good. “You don’t really cull after you catch 28-5 in smallmouths,” says Walters.

He says the fourth day was pretty touch with an east wind and something possibly going on with barometric pressure and currents changing.

“I went to my main area right away because I knew I needed 20 pounds to break the Century mark and a possible win. One of my first spots had a ton of 4-and-a-half pounders on it. I caught a couple and ended up hitting 20 pounds by 10:30. Then I hit 21 by 1 pm and finished the day on a point where Chris Johnston and Fujita both set up on, too, probably 50 to 100 yards from me. Then Corey Johnston pulls up and there are four of us all working the same point. Then, with 45 minutes remaining I hit 23 pounds.

Then Chris caught a 5-4 right in front of me. I could hear his heavy breaking and hollered at him to quiet down. That’s how close we were. I was just giving him a hard time; really respect those guys a lot. So, I turned the corner of the point and caught another good one that put me on top. Again, it was just magical. It’s hard to explain how everything went; it was almost like it was meant to be. Everything just lined up perfectly.”

Chris Johnston

Forage, Techniques, and Tackle

While there are many different forage types available to fish on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, Walters thinks the fish he was targeting were feeding primarily on round gobies. That said, bottom-baits were in order: Ned Rigs, tubes, and in Walters’ case, shorter leader drop-shot rigs.

“Without a doubt, the drop-shot is the number one smallmouth tournament presentation out there. It’s just super-efficient. In later fall you might want to throw a bladebait or Rattle Trap but for me, the drop-shot was key.”

Walters had eight rod & reel combos on deck during the event: two drop-shots on reserve and two that he alternated between while casting.

Walters’ Main Drop-Shot Rod, Reel, Line, & Tackle: DAIWA 7’ Tatula Elite AGS Medium-Light Power Cody Meyers “Finesse” Drop Shot Spinning Rod (BLXSG6101LFS); DAIWA Tatula MQ LT 4000; 8-lb. Sufix 832 braid (blue color) to 8-lb. Sufix Advance fluorocarbon; VMC Finesse Neko Hook; VMC 3/8-ounce tungsten tear drop drop-shot weight; various minnow- and creature-style soft plastics.

“The new Tatula MQ LT spinning reel is the best reel on the market—and that comes from someone who also owns more expensive models. For $200, you just can’t go wrong. Absolutely tournament-grade. And no-fail. The drag is so smooth the fish almost fight longer because they don’t feel anything. It’s not jerky, it’s super smooth,” remarks Walters.

Walters’ Finesse Drop-Shot Rod, Reel, Line, & Tackle: DAIWA 6’10” BLX Light Power, Fast Action Spinning Rod (BLXSG6101LFS); DAIWA Tatula MQ LT 4000; 6-lb. Sufix 832 braid (blue color) to 6-lb. Sufix Advance fluorocarbon; VMC Finesse Neko Hook; VMC 3/8-ounce tungsten tear drop drop-shot weight; various small minnow- and creature-style soft plastics.

“The 6’10” BLX Light Action Power Spinning Rod is the same stick the Johnston brothers use,” divulges Walters. “While its power is rated light, it’s super light. I use it to catch bream and shad at home in South Carolina. Anyway, they got me hooked on it about two years ago. While it’s a light power rod, you can hook fish and never lose one. And I use the same Tatula MQ LT 4000 reel with it. I like the larger spool for farther casts, the fact that its size also prevents fluoro from coiling, and overall, it just balances with the rod better. I come from the saltwater school, so I’ve always loved bigger reels. With this rig I’ll nose-hook smaller baits when smallies are finicky. It’s the perfect set-up for that.”

Kyoya Fujita (Photo courtesy of B.A.S.S.)

Advice To Young, Aspiring Bass Pros

Although there was no high school bass fishing team at the time of Walters primary schooling, he did sign up for the University of South Carolina bass fishing team on his first day of college. Still a young man himself at 27 years old, Walters has some words of wisdom for up-and-coming young bass anglers.

“The first thing is fish and enjoy it. Get your education and don’t be too worried about trying to make it professionally, getting sponsors, and all of that. Just have fun. If you’re good at it, bass fishing will take you where you need to be. But make your education top priority,” advises Walters.

“But never miss a tournament. I always operated on the notion that you can always retake a class, but you can’t ever retake a tournament. And if a teacher won’t let you out of class, I’d tell them you’ll see them next semester. At least for me, I wasn’t going to miss a single tournament. That’s just how it was,” continues Walters.

A Word From DAIWA

DAIWA Seinor Marketing Manager, Marc Mills, concludes: “This was an historical event for Daiwa and professional bass fishing. We feel very honored to have what we feel is the strongest professional bass team in the industry—and I think this recent Elite event on the St. Lawrence illustrates that. Patrick (USA) took first, Chris Johnston (CANADA) finished second, and Kyoya Fujita (JAPAN) placed third – and all with over 100 pounds of Great Lakes smallmouth bass, hitting the Century Mark in one event. It just illustrates that DAIWA is a global fishing manufacturer catering to the high-end needs of anglers from around the world, whether they’re top-performing pro anglers or those just starting up with the sport.”